Stars Can't Shine Without Darkness
by WonderfulUnknown
Summary: Ok, so you know the story I was writing, "I Will Discover Myself", well I didn't exactly know where I was going with the chapters I was writing and decided to re-write the whole story, starting from chapter 1. Plot is still the same and the main character "Asteria," but other than that I have mixed it up to make a better story. (Title/picture changed.)
1. Chapter 1- Flightless

**STARS CAN"T SHINE WITHOUT DARKNESS**

**BY: WONDERFUL UNKNOWN **

_Yup, this is my first fanfic (how many times have you heard that one?) So, well like I said I've written this story a couple times and this time I am really sure about this story. It's a pretty cool action/drama adventure following none other than, Asteria. Summaries spoil things, so I think I'm going to stop there. Just read._

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><p><strong><em>Chapter 1- Flightless<em>**

"You're not gonna win this time old man," I retorted as I took another swipe at the satyr. Acacius laughed and rolled out of the way, just before my sword could have collided with his chest.

Acacius is like a dad to me, a _really_ obnoxious dad. Nevertheless, he has raised me ever since I was two after both my parents gave me up and left me. I'm a sixteen year-old demigod right now. That's another thing though; one of my mysterious parents was a god/goddess. He has been raising/training me in the meantime, always pushing me to be the best fighter I can be. "It will save your life one day," he tells me. Then again, I don't know when these skills are going to kick in, considering I have never won a single battle against him. Yup that's right, after fourteen years of training I have yet to beat Acacius at a single sword fight.

I try another jab at his arm, but he simply sidesteps the attack.

"Apparently, that time is not today Asteria," he easily contradicted, "not until you learn how to properly use a sword because _ordinarily_ people live and learn. You just live." Acacius smiled at me mockingly and got an evil glint in his eyes.

Before I could realize what he was planning to do, he kicked the back of my knees forcefully, causing me to lose my balance and fall into the knee length grassland we were training in.

I quickly hunted for my sword, but the darn grass was too long for me to spot my lost blade.

Acacius lazily placed his hoof on my chest and hummed, "Will you ever learn not to let your guard down?" He swiftly brought his sword up to my throat. "Now look at the mess you have gotten yourself into," he replied disappointingly shaking his head from side to side.

I glared up at him and he removed his sword and offered out his hand. I reluctantly took it with a roll of both our eyes. As he heaved me off the ground I snapped, "I so had you beaten, until that little trick you pulled back there, for you information."

He looked amused and turned his head to look at me, "Oh that?" he asked. I nodded. "That was actually the oldest trick in the book, have you even been reading those books I have been giving you?" he questioned, while raising a bushy eyebrow. I scowled at him again and thought of something to witty to say as we retreated back into the woods to our little cottage structured inside a giant hollow tree.

On our way back, we passed a deer and almost immediately both mine's and Acacius' stomachs grumbled. He watched me sympathetically, until he spotted something high up in a pine tree behind me. I turned and my eyes met the tidy nest most likely possessing a few glorious eggs.

The only problem was it was suspended about fifty feet off the ground.

Acacius and I had a quick staring contest. He won. I groaned inwardly and began climbing the exfoliating tree bark.

The ascent was going pretty well, until I placed my foot on a weak branch that snapped under my weight. I screamed and instantly held onto the tree trunk for dear life as my feet helplessly dangled in the air and searched for crooks in the tree to place my feet. My fingers gripped the tree limb above me with so much strength, I was worried that I would break it myself.

I sneaked a glimpse at the ground only to see the broken branch tumble down the tree and hit Acacius square in the head. He shot his head towards the sky, rubbing his skull, clearly annoyed. Then his eyes widen and his jaw dropped.

"OH MY GODS! Asteria stay put, I'm coming up after you," he promised and awkwardly began ascending the tree trunk, constantly cracking a branch and falling back to the ground or just simply slipping and loosing his footing. It must not be easy to climb with hooves as feet.

My fingers suddenly began slipping. Again, I peeked at the ground forty feet below me and gulped. Acacius would never make it up the tree with the branches constantly breaking under his weight, and if he does I'll be long gone as a pancake on the forest floor, most likely, breakfast for another animal.

"Hang on sweetheart, I'm coming!" Acacius repeated and even from this height, the worried tears in his eyes were unmistakable. The sight of my father crying and the fact that he never cries, struck something within me, giving me a new purpose to keep trying.

I wrapped by legs tightly around the rough tree trunk, just in time before my hands gave out and wrapped them around the tree, too. I called down to a very frantic Acacius, "Don't worry I'm fine, I'm fine," I breathed.

"A-Are you sure?" he managed to say between his sniffling. "Yes. Don't worry," I hollered over my shoulder and continued mounting the tree in a weird inch-worm method.

When I finally reached the nest, I snatched the eggs and slipped them into the inside pocket of my jean jacket. I stared at the ground over my shoulder and felt dizzy. Between the difficult shinny up the tree and near-life-death experience, I was completely drained and out of breath.

I sighed and decided to sit on a sturdy branch next to nest and get some oxygen into my lungs, while watching the entire forest from the treetops. The sunlight illuminated every inch of the woods perfectly. I could have admire the view for hours, but Acacius would never have that. In fact, he's probably entering a new stage of hysteria as I speak.

Before, I started my descent back to a- no doubt -freaking out Acacius, I saw a dark shadow rush past a tree and disappear. I dismissed it as nothing and instead a side effect from my lack of air, carefully continuing my way down the intricate rows of branches. "Be careful," Acacius repeated every five seconds.

As my feet finally found the ground, I was greeted by a crushing bear hug. "Oh wow," I breathed as the air was squeezed out of my lungs. Acacius continued embracing me for a full minute, until he caught himself and pulled away exclaiming, "Looks like you are a couple of slates short of a full roof. Honestly, what were you thinking back there. You could have gotten seriously hurt. Are my lessons doing nothing for you…" The conversation goes on and on how it was my fault, but if I remember clearly(which I do), it was his idea for me to climb the tree in the first place.

After his senseless bickering ceased, I energetically took out the eggs from my jacket pocket and responded, "Great, now that your pointless ranting is crossed off our to-do-list, can we make breakfast." I smirked, while raising the eggs and shaking them in front of his face. He scowled and snatched them form my hands.

"Hey give it back, that so happens to be my well-deserved breakfast you got there," I complained while trying to reach out for the eggs. However he just swatted my hand away, mumbling something about me falling for the oldest tricks in the book, as he opened the door to our hollow tree cottage. It has been our safe house for about a year, which is the most time we have ever spent in one place. He did a double take outside before he closed the door and shook his head, as if to clear away what he just saw.

His crankier than usual behavior was rubbing me the wrong way and I can't resist the words tumbling out of my mouth. "Yeah, I guess you would know about "old tricks", since even your memory is in black and white," I snapped. Now, it was his turn to glare at me.

"A sharp tongue does not mean you have a keen mind," he answered angrily, while walking over to the book shelf and shoving a copy labeled, _Battlefield Tactics_ into my hands. "You should look this over sometime. You just might win one sword combat in the future," he said and then disappeared over to the kitchen to make breakfast.

Letting out a loud exhale, I grumpily plopped down on the dinning and flipped through the pages I have read a thousand times. Acacius can be so irritating sometimes. For instance, he never tells me why we move so much and what I'm even learning to fight for. One time he was so upset that he yelled, "because if your parents ever get a hold of you they might-" he stopped himself. "They might what?!" I asked, "you said my parents abandoned me!" He looked at me with a bit of betrayal and his eyes started to tear up. "Acacius, what aren't you telling me?" I said taking a step closer to him. He looked up at me, his face went soft for one second and I thought he was going to actually tell me something, when thunder rumbled in the sky. He flinched and when his eyes met mine's again they were stony. "You are still too young, you'll find out when you're older," he explained harshly and walked away. Ever since that occurred a dew months ago, we have been having an unspoken war because I thought I could trust him, that Acacius would tell me anything. Apparently not.

I was still skimming through the pages, when I smelled the eggs burning. "Hey, Acacius is everything ok?" I asked.

He didn't answer.

"Acacius?" I questioned with a little more concern than I intended, after all I was still mad at him...

There was a loud rattle of pots and pans clattering on the tile floor and the sharp sound of glass cups shattering. I stumbled over the furniture, eagerly trying to get to the kitchen and when I turned the corner, I found the kitchen engulfed in flames.


	2. Chapter 2- Monster

**STARS CAN"T SHINE WITHOUT DARKNESS**

**BY: WONDERFUL UNKNOWN**

Well wasn't that last chapter all over the place... and so is this one.

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 2- Monster<strong>_

"ACACIUS!" I scream through the raging fire before me. "ACACIUS! WHERE ARE YOU!" I yell again, but I receive no answer. Fear crept up my spine, as my eyes flew over the scene of the curtains catching fire and even the wooden floor I was standing on! I understood now that I lived in a real-life box of matches and now I am forced to see it burn. My home was being destroyed with no idea where Acacius is. He could be-. No, he is alive. He is alive. I know it. He wouldn't leave me.

Thick black smoke began to curl around the narrow kitchen I was in, making it hard to see more than three feet in front of me. I try to put the fire out by throwing bowls of water into the scorching fire from the sink, but it was no use. I realize I trapped myself between the violent flames that are sneaking closer and closer to me. I drop my bowl and it smashes at my feet as I stare at the advancing blaze in disbelief. _I'm going to die._

Tears begin to swell in my eyes as I madly scramble over the sink to open the window that lies above it, but to my luck, it is sealed tightly. No matter how many times I pull on the handle it just won't budge, in a matter of fact the handle breaks. I toss the wretched thing over my shoulder when suddenly, I hear a roar that shakes the entire house.

I hastily wipe away at the glass coated in a black layer of smoke to see where the sound came from. I view the forest perfectly unharmed in its usual golden and green glow, it is still and quiet. Nothing moves.

Then I see a roaring blast of fire erupt from behind a tree and a stumbling Acacius running towards our cottage with his arms flaying wildly. His lips are moving, but I can't hear him at first then he shouts at the top of his lungs, "ASTERIA! NO, NO! ASTERIA!" he shouts, "I'M COMING! YOU NEED TO RUN! GET OUT OF THE HOU-" he is cut off when a scaly creature the size of five grizzly bears put together, emerges from the woods and with a flick of his tail, sends Acacius rocketing into a nearby pine tree with a meaty crack. I scream as I see Acacius' limp form slump to the ground, unconscious.

I watch as the ceiling collapses a few feet away from me. _NO_, I need to get to Acacius.

Something behind me explodes and I feel the blistering flames lick my right arm. I cry out in pain and turn my back to the rampant blaze, only to have my back take on the similar throbbing of my arm. I try to receding from the hurting fire, but I am stopped by the unopening window and thick wodden walls. I scream again as the pain spreads throughout my body, and I realize I am on fire! I helplessly kick, hit and do everything in my power to break the glass and escape without passing out from the smoke inhalation. I cry the entire time because of so many reasons, but if I had to sum it up into two words it would be: pain and fear.

I feel the walls tremble again and the deep bellow echoes through the house causing beams to come crashing down behind me. I start kicking harder, only it isn't to save my life. All I can think about is my helpless father lying helplessly slammed against the tree at the mercy of the monster looming above him. That is what lights a flame of fearless determination in my heart. It is the thought of Acacius that doesn't alow me to give up because he is all that matters.

"No..No... No. ACACIUS!" I yell as I deliver the last punch that breaks the bloody glass and I am send plummeting into the soft cool grass outside. I sigh in relief as I smell the clean air and feel the soft moss underneath my fingertips. I would have passed out right there, until I remembered my sickening worry of Acacius. _I need to save him_.

I summon up all my strength to pick myself off from the ground and make my way to Acacius. Every step hurts, but when I finally get there, I throw my arms around him and weep because he is thankfully still alive! I feel him jump, but then his arms wrap around me, and despite the pain that bursts on my back, it warms my heart too much to even care.

When I release him from my embrace, his eyes grow wide and he bellows, "What are you still doing here. You need to run! I should have told you sooner, but you are not an ordinary demigod and because of that people want you dead or want to use you. And now those people have found us!" I must look stupid and oblivious to what he just said, because he frantically pushes me up saying, "That means we need to go now!" I snap out of my hazy daydream as he continues to push me through the ember forest.

Then a scary question creeps into my mind. "Acacius, where did the creature that almost killed us go?" I ask shakily. He looks at me with a serious stare and answers, "I don't know, but let's hope it does not find us." He nods and I nod back and we continuing running. I see his jaw tighten out of the corner of my eye and he starts, "But if it does, I need you to take this pearl and smash it under your feet and concentrate on these words, Camp Half-blood." He turns and places an iridescent pearl into my hand and I slip it deep into my front pocket. "Do you have one?" I ask. He stays quiet for a while, until his mouth begins to form words that I never hear because then a burst of fire singes the meadow behind us. It lights up in a hue of bright orange that signifies the arrival of the terrifying beast hunting my blood!

Anger boils inside me and I unsheathe my sword I retrieved from the weapons cabin we stopped by, before we left. Acacius' hand stops me and he says, "That won't do you any good now, besides you still haven't beaten me at a single match yet, remember?" He smiles at me one last time, before we break into a mad dash again. I actually think things will be alright, until I hear Acacius cry out in pain behind me, and I catch a glimpse as the monster's claws finish grazing Acacius leg. I run back to him and lift him off from the rocky ground, when I hear him whisper, " No, I don't have one. You're going to have to go without me." I gaze at him in doubt and he mutters, "Promise me." I shake my head and plead, "No, NO! Acacius PLEASE! Come with me, I can't do this alone!" We stare into each other's eyes for two seconds, but it felt like an eternity as he looks at me one final time with his bright brown eyes.

Then a column of flames engulfs the forest behind us and he screams, "Go, get out of here, GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" He ushers me behind a large pine and tries to force me to crush the pearl under my feet through frantic yelling. I refuse and he gently takes my chin in his hands and through waters eyes says, "Hey, I"ll be alright. I am a good fighter, remember." My chin quivers under his fingers and I nod. I reach into my pocket and drop the pearl onto the ground and hesitantly step on it. I tightly grasp Acacius' hand as I say, "Camp Half-blood."

Mist swirls from the earth and wraps around my feet, traveling up my body, a roar shakes my bones and I come face to face with a fearsome creature with glittering green scales and radioactive green eyes. The monster opens it jaw to reveal its sharp three foot teeth still tinted in blood from its last meal. I see the bright flames flare up at the back of its mouth and I feel it's firey breath blow against my face.

The last thing I recall is Acacius turning around with wide eyes as he yells my name and I yell his, as I see him wrapped in a bright torch. Pain enters his eyes and he cries out in searing pain. I scream louder. Then the mist obscures my vision, as the feeling of Acacius' warm hand in mines vanishes and I am thrusted into cold darkness.


	3. Chapter 3- Troubled

**STAR'S CAN'T SHINE WITHOUT DARKNESS**

**BY: WONDERFUL UNKNOWN**

Hey, I am actually getting a hand of this whole updating thing. Cool. So this chapter is emotional-all sorts of emotions. A roller coaster of emotions, if you will. That's what this kid says a teenager's life is all about in my class a couple of days ago. I smiled because he thought he was so clever, but in reality everyone rolled their eyes, including the teacher. He didn't notice.

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><p><strong><em>Chapter 3- Troubled<em>**

For a moment I feel like I'm floating through ice cold water currents, but I really don't care because I'm still screaming Acacius' name at the top of my lungs. I cry harder and my hands reach out into empty nothingness, but I know I will never see him again. He's gone and I left him...

Even though I saw his flesh burn in front of my very face I don't want to believe he is gone. How could he? He was alive and laughing a couple hours ago. He teased me a few hours ago. I heard him speak to me mere seconds ago. All this feels as if it happened in another time, an amazing life I once lived. Now, I refuse to believe the past few events just happened. I did not just run way from my burning home. I did not just discover someone or something is after my blood. I did not just see Acacius' catch fire, while his life and screams faded into the flames. It didn't, couldn't have happened. Everything I know and love was not destroyed before my eyes…but I know it did because the cascading tears cease to end their stream down my face.

I escape the cold strange vortex and am slammed into cold gravel. Yes gravel, not warm grass, but sharp rocks that cut my skin at contact. Not that I realize the pain, I just notice my blood stained hands as I reach up to wipe hot tears from my eyes. "Acacius..," I whisper. "I'm sorry," I sniffle. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you!" I sob into my knees. I lose my balance and fall backwards. I punch the ground, while yelling and screaming pointless curses. Then I hastily push myself from the ground and stand shakily on my knees. He is not dead...please...it can't. Please..."I'M SORRY! ACACIUS PLEASE DONT LEAVE ME! I'M SORRY!" I shout into the dark forest. I collapse to my knees earning a few deep cuts, when the piercing rocks dig into my skin. I wince and bend over holding my head in my hands as I cry myself to sleep, right there.

My mind gets fuzzy and spotty after that, and all I can recall is someone shouting over my body and then scooping me up into their arms and rock me from side to side as they run. There is more shouting and new voices. I see lights and we past a campfire and I scream at the memory of Acacius being swallowed by flames. "Are you in pain, what's wrong?!" a panicked voice questions. My vision is pretty blurry but I can make out the hazy outline of black tousled hair against pale skin. I watch his sweaty hair cling to his face as I feel my body go limp and my arm falls to the side and brushes against the grass we must be walking through. I close my eyes.

When I wake up again I am lying in a bed with bright lights shining overhead. A light sheet is sprawled over my waist and I toss it off and stand up to observe the white room. A cup of water was left on the nightstand and I thirstily snatch it up and drink it all. I never did eat breakfast after all, and it has been a full day since I have eaten due to the hectic events of the day before. I'm still wearing my old clothes, which consist of a now seared light blue sweater Acacius' knitted for me. Yes he knits…knitted. I close my eyes again and take a deep breath to compose myself. I look down at my light washed ripped jeans, which weren't always ripped. They are painted in my dried blood and I examine the bandages over my cuts. Someone helped me. I reach the bandages on my burned back and right arm, and find it not stinging as much as the night before.

The door opens and the same boy with the snowy skin and unruly black hair walks into the room holding a small cup of golden fluid. He looks back and jumps back stunned, when he notices I'm out of bed. I smile at his anxiety and ask him if he is ok. He looks at me unsurely and questions, "I think I should be asking how you are doing?" He steps closer to me and looks into my dark blue eyes and I stare back into his dark shadowy eyes. No, I want to tell him, I am not ok, not even close. However I muster up enough courage to say, "Yeah. I'm fine." He glares at me unconvinced and before he asks another question I quickly rush to say, "So, am I in Camp Half-blood?" "Yes," He responds, "because you are a-" "Demigod," I finish for him. "You sure do know a lot more than most new campers...do you know who you're godly parent is?" I'm at a loss of words for that since Acacius never got a chance to tell me… I take a quick breath again and fight of the hot tears threatening to spill over. "No," I whisper. I cross my arms over my chest and rock on my heels, before looking back up at the boy. When I do he hand me over the small cup that was in his hands earlier and says, "Drink this. It will help you get better. It's called ambrosia." I gently take it from his hands and our fingertips brush, making my heart plummet to my stomach. The sudden feeling shocks me and I try to dismiss the feeling by sipping the exotic golden fluid. I hold it up to my nose and sniff it. He grins at me and declares, "It doesn't taste bad, trust me you'll like it." I nod at him embarrassed and take a sip. The medicine is warm and soothing. It tastes like Acacius' sweet forest tea specialty. I smile at the boy in thanks for the comforting memory and he grins back. After I finish the unfortunately small beaker of ambrosia, I see the boy extend his hand out to me. I take it, ignoring the rush and plummeting feeling of my stomach as he states, "I'm Nico di Angelo." I look up into his eyes and find the unexpected promise of trust swimming within them. "Nice to meet you, I'm Asteria and umm…I don't know what my last name is." He laughs and so do I.


End file.
